Path of Exile

Bloodline Classes give Path of Exile characters access to a secondary Ascendancy tree that can be combined with their original Ascendancy Class. Players unlock individual Bloodlines by defeating specific endgame bosses, then decide how many of their normal Ascendancy Passive Skill Points they want to spend inside the Bloodline tree. Curse of the Allflame expands this system through two important additions. The Velka Bloodline is tied directly to Velka, the Tide Witch, and introduces mechanics that revolve around Brine Ground, Cold ailments, elemental spells, Barnacles, and damage over time. The Abyssal Bloodline comes from Zorath, Vile Assembled, and creates several specialised paths around Abyss Jewel families, Totems, Mana recovery, Chaos minions, Intimidate, Maim, and Arcane Surge. The two trees serve very different character types. Velka supports PoE builds that can take advantage of Cold, Lightning, physical conversion, and persistent damage effects, while the Abyssal tree can transform a character according to which Abyss Jewels it uses. Patch 3.29.1 enabled the Abyssal Bloodline alongside the larger Abyss update, giving players another major reason to pursue the new pinnacle content. Understanding the individual nodes is essential because several of them can shape the entire structure of an endgame build.

How Bloodline Classes Work
Bloodline Classes function as secondary Ascendancy Classes that sit alongside the character’s original Ascendancy. They do not provide a separate pool of Ascendancy Passive Skill Points. Players spend the same points that they would normally allocate to their primary Ascendancy tree, which creates an important build decision. A character can remain heavily invested in its original Ascendancy, take only a powerful Bloodline branch, or redirect several points toward a Bloodline whose mechanics provide greater value for the chosen skill. Bloodlines are unlocked on a character by defeating the endgame boss that represents that power. Once unlocked, the tree becomes available for allocation. This design allows unusual combinations that conventional Ascendancies cannot provide alone. A Juggernaut can gain specialised elemental or Abyss mechanics, an Occultist can invest into Totem or Mana interactions, and a minion character can use Abyssal bonuses without changing its original class. The strongest Bloodline setups usually concentrate on one or two major passives that interact directly with the main build. Spending points simply because a Bloodline is available can weaken an important original Ascendancy path, so every allocation should be compared with the node that the character gives up.

How to Unlock the Velka Bloodline
The Velka Bloodline becomes available after defeating Velka, the Tide Witch, the major boss which is connected to Curse of the Allflame. Velka represents the league-specific side of the new 3.29 Bloodline additions and carries several mechanics that match the ocean and brine theme of the expansion. Defeating her gives the character access to the Bloodline so Ascendancy Passive Skill Points can be allocated into its branches. The tree contains three major options: Tide Caller, Salt and Scale, and Brine Rot. Small passives around them provide Cold Damage, Cold Resistance, increased effect of Cold ailments, and Damage over Time Multiplier. This makes the tree immediately attractive to characters that already scale Chill, Freeze, Brittle, Cold Damage, elemental spells, or persistent damage effects. The three main nodes also operate differently enough to support separate builds. Tide Caller creates Brine Ground and automatically triggers Surging Torrent from elemental spell casting. Salt and Scale applies Barnacles to nearby enemies over time. Brine Rot creates Drowning Domain and stores part of the damage over time that enemies take inside it. Players should therefore choose their Velka route according to how the character deals damage and how much time enemies remain within the relevant area.

Tide Caller and Brine Ground Builds
Tide Caller triggers Level 20 Surging Torrent whenever the player casts an Elemental Spell and causes the character to leave Brine Ground while moving. Surging Torrent erupts after a short delay, damages enemies in an area, and creates additional Brine Ground. Enemies that stand on your Brine Ground have 30% increased effect of Lightning and Cold ailments on them and 25% reduced Armour and Evasion Rating. Allies that stand on the ground gain 10% of Physical Damage as extra Cold Damage and another 10% as extra Lightning Damage. These effects give Tide Caller several possible applications. Elemental casters can trigger Surging Torrent continuously through normal spell use, creating extra area damage without adding another manually activated skill. Builds that rely on Shock, Chill, Freeze, or Brittle gain additional ailment effectiveness against enemies that remain on Brine Ground. Physical attack characters can also benefit from the extra Cold and Lightning Damage when they stand inside the area, making Tide Caller useful beyond pure spell builds. The reduced Armour and Evasion on enemies provides another advantage for attacks that need reliable hits or physical damage support. Characters with strong movement can continuously spread Brine Ground across combat areas, creating broad coverage throughout Maps and boss arenas.

Salt and Scale Builds Around Barnacles
Salt and Scale automatically inflicts Barnacles on nearby enemies every second. Each Barnacle causes the affected enemy to convert 5% of Physical Damage to Cold Damage and increases the duration of Chill and Freeze on that enemy by 5%. Barnacles last for 30 seconds and can stack up to ten times. At maximum stacks, the conversion effect can substantially alter the target’s outgoing Physical Damage while Chill and Freeze effects remain active for longer periods. This makes the node attractive to Cold-focused characters that fight within relatively close range and can maintain contact with important enemies for several seconds. Builds that already apply strong Chill gain greater control, while Freeze-oriented setups receive longer Freeze duration after enough Barnacles accumulate. The automatic application is particularly useful against bosses because the stacks increase while the player continues normal combat. No additional active skill is required to maintain the mechanic. The nearby requirement makes positioning important, so characters that spend most of their time far away from enemies may receive less consistent value. Melee, close-range spells, and durable Cold builds can apply stacks much more reliably. Salt and Scale can also support defensive planning through the Physical-to-Cold conversion on affected enemies when the character has particularly strong mitigation against Cold Damage.

Brine Rot and Drowning Domain
Brine Rot triggers Drowning Domain when the passive is allocated. While enemies remain inside the Domain, 30% of the damage over time that they take is stored as Brine Rot. When those enemies leave the Drowning Domain, they lose Life according to the accumulated amount. This creates a distinctive mechanic for characters that can apply large damage over time effects while controlling enemy position. Chaos damage over time, Cold damage over time, Ignite, Bleed, and other suitable sources can potentially contribute according to the underlying rules of the skill. The central goal is to apply strong persistent damage while the enemy remains inside the Domain, then trigger the stored effect when it leaves. The Velka tree supports this direction through a small passive that grants +8% to Damage over Time Multiplier, giving the route an additional offensive benefit. Bosses that remain inside the affected area for long periods can accumulate substantial Brine Rot before movement causes the stored effect to activate. Mapping requires more attention because ordinary monsters may die before the mechanic reaches meaningful values. Brine Rot therefore has its strongest appeal for builds that already focus heavily on damage over time and want another layer for durable targets. Players should test positioning and Domain behaviour carefully before dedicating several Ascendancy points to the setup.

How to Unlock the Abyssal Bloodline
The Abyssal Bloodline is unlocked by defeating Zorath, Vile Assembled, the pinnacle boss that is connected to the redesigned Abyss content in Path of Exile 3.29. The class became available with patch 3.29.1 after initially being unavailable at the league launch. Its passive tree reflects the four main Abyss Jewel families and provides specialised bonuses when the character has at least three copies of a particular type socketed. Murderous Eye Jewels support Intimidate and attack damage interactions. Searching Eye Jewels improve Maim and Critical Strike opportunities. Hypnotic Eye Jewels strengthen Arcane Surge through Mana Recoup and Mana Cost Efficiency. Ghastly Eye Jewels improve Unholy Might, Chaos Resistance penetration, and Withered for minions. The Bloodline also contains Conjoined Spire for Totem builds and Bone Feeders as a separate summoned creature option. Small passives grant Totem Damage and Life, reduced Curse effect on the player, and faster expiry of debuffs. This design makes the Abyssal Bloodline unusually broad. Its best branch changes according to the Abyss Jewel family that the character already uses, allowing attack, caster, minion, and Totem archetypes to find very different sources of power within the same secondary Ascendancy.

Murderous and Searching Gaze of the Lich
Murderous Gaze of the Lich activates while at least three Murderous Eye Jewels are socketed. Intimidate that the player inflicts then causes enemies to take an additional 15% increased Attack Damage and also causes those targets to deal 10% less Damage. Searching Gaze follows a similar structure with three Searching Eye Jewels. Maim that the character inflicts prevents affected targets from dealing Critical Strikes, while hits against those targets gain 20% more Critical Strike Chance. These two branches support attack builds from different angles. Murderous Gaze combines offence with defence, strengthening the effect of Intimidate while reducing enemy damage output. Physical attack builds that already apply Intimidate can gain immediate value without adding another complicated mechanic. Searching Gaze focuses more heavily on Critical Strike characters. Preventing Maimed enemies from dealing Critical Strikes removes a dangerous source of burst damage, while the more Critical Strike Chance modifier improves offensive consistency against the same targets. Builds that already use several Abyss Jewels gain the easiest access because the three-jewel requirement can fit into existing equipment, Stygian Vises, or Passive Tree sockets. Characters should count the total opportunity cost of those jewels before allocating either Gaze passive.

Hypnotic and Ghastly Gaze of the Lich
Hypnotic Gaze of the Lich activates with at least three Hypnotic Eye Jewels. While this condition is active, Arcane Surge also grants 20% of Damage taken Recouped as Mana and 20% increased Mana Cost Efficiency. This creates a strong resource-management option for spellcasters that already maintain Arcane Surge. Incoming hits contribute to future Mana recovery through Recoup, while Mana Cost Efficiency helps expensive skills consume less of the character’s available resource. Ghastly Gaze of the Lich requires three Ghastly Eye Jewels and focuses entirely on minions. Unholy Might that the character grants causes the affected target’s damage to penetrate 10% Chaos Resistance and also applies 20% increased effect of Withered. This can provide substantial value to Chaos minion setups because modern Unholy Might converts Physical Damage to Chaos Damage and supports Withered application. Minion builds that already use Ghastly Eye Jewels in equipment and the Passive Tree can satisfy the requirement efficiently. Hypnotic Gaze follows the same logic for Mana casters. The strongest setups are those where the required Abyss Jewels already provide useful explicit modifiers, allowing the Bloodline condition to enhance an established equipment plan without forcing weak jewel choices.

Conjoined Spire and Bone Feeders
Conjoined Spire offers one of the most unusual Totem mechanics in 3.29. The character takes 15% less Damage while a Totem is active, and summoning a Totem causes all other summoned Totems to die. In exchange, skills that Totems use gain 10% more Area of Effect and 10% more Damage for every maximum summoned Totem that the character has. Totems also gain 5% more Life for each maximum Totem. This creates a build where maximum Totem count remains extremely valuable even though only the newest summoned Totem survives. A character with a high theoretical maximum can turn a single active Totem into a much stronger unit. The mechanic suits skills that gain large benefits from concentrated Totem power, especially when additional Area of Effect improves clearing or coverage. Bone Feeders provides another route within the same Bloodline and triggers Level 20 Summon Bone Feeders when allocated. This gives players access to an additional minion mechanic without requiring a normal skill gem for the initial summon source. Together, these nodes show how widely the Abyssal Bloodline can stretch. One side supports single-Totem setups with heavy scaling, while another provides a new summoned creature. The correct choice depends heavily on the primary build and available Ascendancy points.

Velka or Abyssal Bloodline: Which One Should You Choose?
Velka and Abyssal serve different character structures, so the best choice becomes clear once the build’s main mechanics are identified. Velka offers direct value to Cold builds, elemental spellcasters, ailment setups, physical characters that can benefit from Brine Ground, and damage over time builds that can exploit Brine Rot. Tide Caller provides the broadest Velka option because elemental spells can trigger Surging Torrent while Brine Ground supports several damage types. Salt and Scale specialises more heavily in Cold control through Barnacles, while Brine Rot targets persistent damage setups. Abyssal provides a larger number of specialised branches. Attack builds can choose Murderous or Searching Eye synergy, Mana casters can use Hypnotic Gaze, Chaos minions can use Ghastly Gaze, and Totem characters can build around Conjoined Spire. The requirement for three matching Abyss Jewels gives the Abyssal tree an equipment cost that Velka does not share. In exchange, those jewels can carry powerful modifiers of their own and create additional synergy with Stygian Vises and Abyss-focused equipment. Players should compare each Bloodline node with the original Ascendancy passive that would be sacrificed for it. A Bloodline becomes strongest when one branch directly amplifies mechanics that the character already uses.

Key Takeaway
Path of Exile 3.29 adds two distinctive Bloodline Classes that expand endgame character customisation in very different directions. The Velka Bloodline comes from defeating Velka, the Tide Witch, and gives characters access to Tide Caller, Salt and Scale, and Brine Rot. Tide Caller creates Surging Torrent and Brine Ground for elemental and ailment builds, Salt and Scale stacks Barnacles on nearby enemies, and Brine Rot stores part of the damage over time that enemies take inside Drowning Domain. The Abyssal Bloodline becomes available after defeating Zorath, Vile Assembled, and builds its strongest mechanics around the four Abyss Jewel families. Murderous Eye Jewels enhance Intimidate, Searching Eye Jewels strengthen Maim and Critical Strike setups, Hypnotic Eye Jewels improve Arcane Surge and Mana management, and Ghastly Eye Jewels empower Unholy Might and Withered for minions. Conjoined Spire creates a specialised single-Totem archetype, while Bone Feeders provides another minion option. Both Bloodlines use normal Ascendancy Passive Skill Points, so each choice needs to outperform the original Ascendancy node that would otherwise receive those points. Builds that align closely with one of these mechanics can gain an entirely new source of damage, defence, resource control, or specialised utility during Curse of the Allflame.